Shrouded in Darkness
by Dante Gandillion
Summary: Dante is trying to escape his past, but when his worst nightmare comes true, he has to face reality
1. The Figure

**Title:** Shrouded in Darkness

**DISCLAIMER:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Summary:** When Dante's nightmare comes to life, he discovers things about himself, and his past.  
  
Chapter One: The Figure  
  
My name is Dante. I am a fifteen-year-old boy, my birthday is in August, and my favorite color is blue.  
  
From the outside I'm your typical, average teenager. But underneath my calm disposition, a storm rages, recedes, and clashes again in a whirlwind of destruction.  
  
I'm not your normal teenager because of my past. My past which still haunts me to this day, despite my attempts to leave it all behind.  
  
My past is the reason I'm telling you this story.  
  
It was a normal day in September. Warm with a touch of Autumn in the air. Anxious sighs of students who wanted nothing else than to get out of school occasionally broke the steady flow of words.  
  
The teacher's eyes looked up. Cold and emotionless, they swept the room in typical fashion, and returned to the glossy pages of a magazine on the desk. As if this occasional glance could justify his job, the teacher returned to his reading.  
  
I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, just talking to some friends and glancing at the clock every few seconds. Time seemed to be slowing down.  
  
Tick. Tick. Tick.  
  
The late Summer heat was making me drowsy, my eyes were drooping, and those figures of my nightmare were beginning to cloud my mind. It was then that I heard that glorious sound.  
  
My eyes snapped open when the bell rang and I grabbed my bag, which had been packed for a half-hour now, and shuffled out of the room.  
  
Normally, I would hang out with my friends after school on a Friday, but today was different. I felt distanced and alone once again. This was not the first time I have felt this way. I often feel worlds away from my peers. They usually shrug it off as teenager angst.  
  
I decided to walk home instead of taking the train. I couldn't stand to be in a hot, metal box. Everyone's thoughts and feelings pressing in on me probably would have made me spontaneously combust, and I wasn't in the mood for that.  
  
I took the short way home, through the small wooded park that arced towards my house. I had been too distracted with my own thoughts to notice where I was going. I looked up to see the ground stretch ahead of me. Shadows crept over the ground, warning me of danger to come.  
  
I took a step back, turned and began walking back the way I came, knowing that if I retraced my steps, I would find my way back to the path.  
  
If I had known how wrong I was, I would have run faster.  
  
When I couldn't find my way back to the path, I decided to call my friend who often walked through this park on her way to my house. She knew this area like the back of her hand.  
  
I removed my cell phone from my pocket; its sleek, silver exterior was cool to the touch, even though it had been in my pocket all day.  
  
I flipped it open and the familiar screen pulsated at me. No signal. There should have been a strong signal, since I was in the open.  
  
I began to panic, wondering where I was and how I was supposed to get out when it happened.  
  
A strange sound cut through the air, and cold breath seeped into my lungs. It was then that I noticed how silent it was. No birds, cars, no anything at all.  
  
Then it came. From nowhere it appeared as if it had stepped out of my nightmare.  
  
Tall and clad in a black, hooded cloak, it seemed to float towards me. Sunlight shrank away from it, afraid of being trapped in its black void. The evil aura surrounding the figure pushed its way into my lungs, my heart, my soul.  
  
It stopped.  
  
Slowly, the hood was lifted, but the head remained down. Then, as if in a trance, it raised its head and the eyes snapped open.  
  
Those eyes.  
  
I knew those eyes, for they were my own.  
  
There was no emotion in those eyes, and I was drowning in the pupils. Darkness crept into the edge of my mind, and as I struggled to breathe, I connected with something inside of myself.  
  
I stopped struggling and grabbed for that small seed of hope within me, it grew as I got closer to it. Finally, I grasped it and my mind was free of the darkness.  
  
I struck out with that force. The figure seemed to fade at the edges, dimmed by the white aura surrounding me. I was not so fortunate. The figure struck back, wrapping its darkness around me, but I was too strong.  
  
I fought back, resisting the urge to give up. Those eyes were tempting me to sleep, but I would not. I would win, because I had to.  
  
My strength was slipping, being pulled in by the figure. Gathering its energy, the form made one last strike, driving its evil through me before it disappeared. Vanished back into the world of nightmares.  
  
Darkness stole the light from my eyes and stretched across the sky in an endless night. I lay still on the floor of the woods, my breathing was shallow and I did not move.  
  
Darkness crept into the woods, and I lay, forgotten.  
  
Every moment was as long as a man's life. Mist crept over my body, shrouding me in a living cloak. The sun did not rise to wake me, and I spiraled through time, unable to escape the black void of despair.  
  
I was unsure of where I had left my body, but after falling so far, I landed back in it.  
  
I sat bolt upright and choked for air, my lungs weren't working and I could hear my heart slowing. I clawed at my throat and air came rushing into my body. But air was not the only thing that came back. The pain shot through my entire being, as if an explosive force was trying to escape my vessel.  
  
I had no strength left to fight off unconsciousness, and as I slid back into that dark place, before my eyesight faded, I saw someone above me, haloed by the moon and stars.  
  
And then I was gone.


	2. The Meeting

**Title**: Shrouded in Darkness  
  
**DISCLAIMER**: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
**Summary**: When Dante's nightmare comes to life, he discovers things about himself, and his past.  
  
Chapter Two: The Meeting  
  
This world of mine is not my own,  
To whom it belongs I do not know  
Darkness is my only friend  
Lurking in the shadows of my soul  
  
My face was warm.

My hand twitched and I was able to movie it slowly from my side to my cheek. When I felt my skin it was warm to the touch, and I traced a gash about an inch long diagonally.My eyelids were very heavy to lift, each time I raised them a little more, until I could squint.Sunlight poured in from a large window next to me. A thick blanket was covering my body and I felt like I was on fire. Moving my jaw, I tried to make a sound, but my mouth seemed like it was caked with sand. A small cough escaped my throat and that was all.I didn't know where I was. It was some sort of an infirmary I was lying in, but how I got there was lost to me. I moved. The pain wasn't terrible, but it was still there. Pulling the covers off of myself, I saw that I wasn't wearing my own clothes. This, however, was not my biggest problem at the moment.I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and my bare feet rested on the cold stone. The thought crossed my mind that I might not be able to stand, but I quickly dispersed it.Two deep breaths and I was ready to go. I stood up quickly. Too quickly. I fell forward, and as I fell, I threw out my arm to catch the table beside my bed, but it wasn't enough.I crashed to the floor, knocking over the goblet and glass bottle that were on the table. The goblet clanged loudly and rolled under the next bed, while the bottle exploded on the floor.There were footsteps coming my way, but my head was spinning from the blow it had suffered on the floor. A muffled voice whispered a few words and I began to float, no, levitate, off of the ground. I was set down on the bed. The person moved around me, a nurse dressed in the fashion of Florence circa the 1500s held another goblet, pouring some liquid into it from another glass bottle.Warm blood trickled down my head from a wound that must have opened in the fall, and as hard as I tried, I could not make a sound. The nurse lifted the goblet to my parted lips and a sweet tasting liquid slid down my throat.Unable to resist, I slipped back into unconsciousness. I did not dream, there were no nightmares this night.When I awoke, I felt much better, the stars shed their light on me through the window, and the pain was gone."Hello?" I called out softly. My voice was hoarse and the word came out as more of a grunt."So you are awake." It was a soft voice, and as its owner moved out of the shadows, a feeling of hatred passed briefly through me."You." I said as best I could."Yes." Answered the manHis eyes, which normally twinkled, had lost their light."Where am I?" My voice was cold and metallic."Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I brought you here after I found you in those woods.""Ah, here we are." Came a cheerful voice, the nurse entered the room, carrying a goblet and another glass bottle. She held the goblet out to me. I didn't take it."Not to worry, this potion is only to ensure that your wounds heal properly. We don't want to take any chances, now do we?"Reluctantly, I reached out and touched the goblet, then, with a steady hand, I took it and drank."There we go. Now, we were wondering if you knew how you got here?" She asked. She was cheerful, which was enraging me."I was attacked." I said shortly."And do you know by what, exactly?" The man asked."You know by what." I looked at him and forced myself not to leap up and break the bottle over his head."I was attacked," I continued "by a courtier de puissance, a mediatore di alimentazione." I spoke my next words with a slight tremble. "I was attacked by a demon who steals the powers of others." By now, I couldn't keep the waver out of my voice."By the same one that killed my family." That insufferable man had sympathy in his eyes."You said it would never find me." The words were a whisper."I truly am sorry." I knew he was, but it was too difficult to forgive him."So, where am I going to go?" I asked, unable to think of anything else."You will stay here, of course." His eyes twinkled again."And do what? Practice your magic? The Wild would never mix and the High wouldn't be able to compensate.""We shall worry about that when the time comes. I believe there may be some here who can help you." A small glint in his eyes told me that I would know what he was talking about soon enough."It's time to get you sorted."Twenty minutes later, I stepped into Dumbledore's lavish office. I spared no time examining the objects, and instead settled into the leather armchair across from the headmaster's desk.Dumbledore removed the ancient hat from its place on the highest shelf and placed it on my head."Very unusual, you are." A small voice whispered in my ear. "Smart, hard working, brave. I know the perfect place to put you. But first," The voice became barely audible. "Beware the one who shall seal your fate, for one soul cannot dwell in two bodies forever."I did not know what this meant, but I was sure it was not good."Gryffindor." The hat said unenthusiastically."Hermione." Dumbledore called.The door opened, and a girl around my age with curly brown hair and hazel eyes entered."Please show Mr. Gandillion to the tower.""Yes, professor." Her voice was light and airy.I stood, said goodbye to the headmaster, and followed the girl from the room."I'm Hermione Granger, a fifth year Gryffindor prefect.""Dante Gandillion." That was all that I said."Where are you from?" She asked, pulling back a tapestry to reveal a door that we went through."America. Boston, actually.""Really? I've always wanted to see Boston. Are your parents wizards?""They were."Hermione didn't say anything, but I supposed she guessed the truth. We didn't speak for the rest of the way."Here we are, your dorm is up the stairs and to the right—"I walked off abruptly, cutting her off in mid sentence. When I entered the dorm, I saw that there were five other beds besides an empty one, which I assumed was for me.I didn't bother to change, even though there were pajamas, and fell into bed immediately. Two seconds after the curtains were drawn, the old, familiar nightmare gripped my slumber. 


	3. The Group

**Title**: Shrouded in Darkness  
  
**DISCLAIMER**: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
**Summary**: When Dante's nightmare comes to life, he discovers things about himself, and his past.  
  
Chapter Three: The Group  
  
When I woke up the next morning, I felt the same as I always did after a night of chasing nightmares away, tired and irritable. This was not helped much when I couldn't remember where I was for a moment. Then the memories of the previous day flooded my mind like water into a dry river.

I pulled back the curtains and was nearly blinded by the sun. From the blissful lack of noise, I assumed everyone else had gone. _"I hope it's time for breakfast."_ I thought to myself. I hadn't eaten anything for a few days. _"That potion the nurse gave me must have dulled my other senses."_ I would ponder that thought later.I climbed out of bed and discovered a large, wooden trunk at the foot of my bed. I opened it and found numerous things inside, including clothes, books, and a small black bag, which jingled when I picked it up. Inside was a note in a very flourished writing, sitting on top of coins._"Dante, here are some clothes and books which you will need for your classes. We'll deal with your wand situation later. I took this money from your bank account in America.  
-Albus Dumbledore"  
_  
_"Well, at least that solves one problem."_ I changed rather quickly, hesitating for a moment with the robes, but everyone was probably wearing them as well.As I left my dormitory, I realized I had no idea of how to get to wherever it was these people ate. I found my answer waiting for me in the common room.

"Good morning, Dante." It was Hermione. "Hungry?" I simply nodded. "I'll show you where the Great Hall is." She walked towards the tower exit, and when I hesitated to follow, she called out. "Are you coming or not? I have no qualms about leaving you behind."

My lips twitched slightly into a half smile. Once you got over this girl's good-doer attitude, she was okay.Down many flights of stairs, through a few hidden passageways and a final descent of a marble staircase and our journey was over.

"Here we are." Hermione said cheerfully. I rolled my eyes at her. "Well, let's go." She pushed open one of the two heavy halves that made up an enormous portal into the even grander hall beyond.

As I passed through the archway, I got a sudden shiver as if an electric shock had just ran through my body. But it only lasted a second, and Hermione hadn't noticed. Instead, the prefect was walking towards one of the four long tables situated in the hall. Dumbledore's silver beard caught my eye up at the staff table.

"Everyone, this is Dante Gandillion." Hermione said to a group of students, who stopped talking briefly to check me over. Some gave warm smiles before returning to their previous conversations.

"Hey, Dante!" Someone practically shouted. I turned to face the person.She was tall and graceful, with curly black hair that reached to the middle of her back. Her eyes were hazel and seemed to immediately pierce your soul. Her skin was a creamy white, and she walked with the confidence of someone who knew what they wanted from life, as well as how to get it.

"I'm Ethel." She said, extending her hand, which I shook. "This is Serena." She said, gesturing at a girl who merely lifted her hand and then put it back on her knee. "She's a bit out of it sometimes." Ethel joked.

Serena, however, seemed to be quietly observing everything going on around her. You could almost see her taking in everything through those black as night eyes. Her hair was perfectly straight, jet black, and, though I couldn't be certain, seemed to reach the small of her back in perfect locks. Her skin was slightly tanned, and she had a nice smile.

"And here she comes." Ethel said, nodding towards a girl coming our way. "That's Lilith." She said with a grin. "Don't let the name fool you. She's the evilest Slytherin in years, but once you get to know her, she's awesome."

Lilith, as the girl was called, was shorter than me by a few inches, placing her around 5'8", she had brown eyes, caramel skin, and dark brown hair that reached her shoulder blades in tight curls.

"What do we have here?" Her voice was dripping with poison.

"Dante Gandillion." Ethel offered. A small "hmmm" escaped Lilith's throat.

"Do you have a problem with that?" I said, glaring.

Lilith smirked. "He's cool." She said, before spotting something over my shoulder. "What does Arlette think she's doing?" Then Lilith was gone in a billow of her cloak. "Arlette has been trying to steal Lilith's boyfriend." Ethel shook her head.

I raised my eyebrow and didn't ask anything further. I just watched as the girl called Arlette practically threw herself on a boy slightly older than me with green eyes and wild, black hair. "Welcome to Hogwarts." Ethel said with a chuckle, before seating herself at the table and taking a sausage from a plate on its center.

_"This is going to be very interesting."_ I thought to myself. I could have sworn Hermione was looking at me from the corner of her eye. But everytime I turned my head, I found her eyes trained on a thick volume about Arithmancy, which was lying open on the table.


	4. The Change

**Title:** Shrouded in Darkness  
  
**DISCLAIMER:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
**Summary:** When Dante's nightmare comes to life, he discovers things about himself, and his past.  
  
Chapter Four: The Change  
  
After breakfast I had Transfiguration with the other fifth year Gryffindors as well as the Ravenclaws. I followed Ethel and Serena out of the Great Hall and into the classroom, right to the back where I sat between them. Professor McGonagall called for quiet.

"This year, we will be reviewing and preparing for your O.W.L.s. For some of you, remembering the previous material shall be a bit difficult." At this point, she looked directly at a boy in the front who blushed furiously. A few people giggled. "For others," she continued. "mastering the new material shall prove challenging. We will begin with something new, transfiguring one animal into a different one."She removed a white cloth from atop a cage on her desk; inside twenty mice scuttled around."Mr. Gandillion, could you please come to the front to demonstrate this?"I left my seat and walked to McGonagall's desk. I could feel eyes on my back, these people didn't know who I was, or if I was any good at magic."I hear you are a magid, Mt. Gandillion." Her voice was barely audible.I removed one of the mice from the cage and placed it on the desk's surface where it remained still and calm. "Change the mouse to a cat." I thought. "Make it grow, add black fur, change the ears, eyes, nose, and it will no longer be a rodent."I placed my hand over the mouse and kept repeating that one thought to myself. There was a small white glow that began to surround the mouse and it changed almost instantly into a black cat with sleek fur and yellow eyes."Excellent, Mr. Gandillion, you may take your seat." As I turned and walked back to my chair, a boy in the front row raised his hand.

"Miss," He said in an Irish accent. "how did he do that without a wand?"

"He is a magid, Mr. Finnigan." McGonagall said dryly.

"What's a magic?" He asked. Hermione raised her hand, which was accompanied by a few groans.

"A magid is a witch or wizard who is able to cast spells and do other forms of magic without a wand, the gift is very unusual—"

"Thank you, Ms, Granger." McGonagall cut her off. Hermione looked hurt.

I thought I saw Ethel and Serena glance at each other with a peculiar expression on their faces, but when I got to them, they were talking about some Ravenclaw boy that Serena was dating.After Transfiguration, I had Potions. I had heard that the teacher, Professor Snape, was a real asshole. He was already in the classroom when my classmates and I entered.

"Pair off." He said in his greasy voice.

"I've got my partner!" Before I could turn around, Lilith had linked arms with me and pulled me over to a desk in the back.

Snape's face was chalk-white, his eyes livid. He looked afraid to say something, but his reputation for being a hard-ass won out in the end.

"Lilith," He said quietly, approaching our desk. "I hardly think it wise for a Slytherin to pair off with a Gryffindor."

"Is that a problem for you, Sevvy?" I wondered what that name held over Snape because his next statement was barely a stutter. "Go away now." Lilith said, and without a second glance, Snape was at his desk, silently fuming and deducting points from anyone who laughed, even the Slytherins.

"I see you've been eyeing Hermione." She spoke as if she had watched me the entire time at breakfast.

"I have not." It was only partly a lie.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I know she fancies you." I quickly changed the subject.

"Why are you talking to me? I thought that Slytherins hated Gryffindors."

"Well, we usually do, but there are exceptions, Ethel, Serena, and now you." I didn't respond, but for the next hour Lilith told me a lot of things about the students of Hogwarts, mostly secrets that I would never want anyone to know about me.

When the bell rang and our potion was safely sitting on Snape's desk, Lilith leaned close to me and whispered. "There's a party in the dungeons tonight. Ask Ethel to show you where it is."  
For a second, I thought about going, but I just couldn't. I looked around for Hermione, but she was already gone.  
  
The rest of my first day was kind of a blur. Arlette reappeared during Defense Against the Dark Arts. She had been in the Hospital Wing, recovering from the incident at breakfast. That night, I lay on my bed slowly going crazy from boredom. The other fifth year boys had gone to sleep around ten, all except for Harry, who wasn't around much anyway.I couldn't sleep. I had always been a night person, and just when I was going to grab a broom and fly out of the window, it hit me. The party. How perfect, loud, lots of people, most likely some form of alcohol. I decided to go and see just how fun these classmates of mine were.Twenty minutes later, I reached the dungeons, wearing faded jeans, a black T-shirt and white sneakers. The only problem with parties at magical schools were that they were soundproofed with spells. Luckily for me, Harry was walking along the hall at the bottom of the stairs. I knew he'd be going, since he was Lilith's boyfriend. I didn't, however, feel like asking him for directions.I walked along the hall slowly and casually in the same direction as the boy. He stopped, and so did I. There was nothing special about the wall, but Harry placed his hand on it and it faded away. Starting from the center where his hand was, the wall simply faded into nothingness as an invisible wave of magic washed over it.As soon as he passed through, the solid stone reappeared. When I walked up to the wall, I could see nothing that set it apart from every other bare stretch of stone. However, the instant my had touched the cold stone, it vanished, and I stood there for a moment, stunned. I would ask the others about this later, though. The music pouring from the opening was intoxicating, and I drank in the wonders of it all.A huge room was filled with people, all wearing muggle clothes. Most were dancing provocatively, and a lot of them were practically naked. The ones wearing clothes had very tight outfits on, very skin revealing. I definitely out of place.The music was loud and fast, the way I liked it. I saw Ethel dancing with a tall boy with silver-blond hair and expensive looking clothes, Lilith with Harry in the corner, and Serena making out with a guy, who I assumed was the Ravenclaw she was dating, but I didn't know her well enough to guess.I pushed my way to the bar where the bartender, who looked no more than seventeen, handed me a frosted glass bottle. I just took it without asking. Before I could take two steps, I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," She said, looking up. It was Hermione. "Oh, it's you. Having fun at your first party in our lovely castle?"

"I am." My stomach clenched for some reason, I didn't usually fall for people this easily, but with Hermione it was different. She leaned her elbows on the bar and turned her head to look at me. Her hair fell into her eyes, those gorgeous brown eyes that I could stare into all night.

"What?" She asked, smiling.

"You're very beautiful." My voice was a whisper, but she must have heard me, because she blushed.

"Do you want to dance?" She asked me, and, without waiting for an answer, pulled me onto the dance floor.

For the next few hours, I danced with Hermione, had many more drinks, and had a really good time. Around three everyone left, some too drunk to stand up, others wanting some privacy for...other things.Ethel, Hermione, and I stumbled our way back to Gryffindor Tower. Ethel climbed through the portrait hole with as much grace as she could muster while being drunk off her ass. I went through next, so that I could help Hermione from the other side, but in her state, she tripped and fell. I tried to catch her, but we both ended up on the floor laughing. Before I realized what I was doing, I kissed her.

"I've been waiting for you to do that." She whispered in my ear before she leaned down and kissed me. Her lips were soft and opened slightly, and I felt like I could lie there all night with her.

"We have classes in the morning." There was her do-gooder attitude again, I sighed, but moved to get up anyway.

"I'll see you in the morning," The look on her face made me smile, but then she turned and walked up the stairs to her dorm, this time leaving me stunned.

When I sunk into my bed, I couldn't help but think of how great things were. I had been at the school for just one day, and I already had a group of friends, and Hermione, who was more than just a friend.I didn't have a nightmare that night, a first in three years. 


End file.
